How co creating in a group can help you discover your SELF?
Group project is part of experiencing self at Aarohi Coversity Boot Camp
One may wonder and argue how this is related to one’s interest?
What if each one has a different interest, how can this group project benefit them?
Well, it’s not only about interests or passion, it’s about discovering self.
On day 01 itself, the group is challenged to work on a group project, plan it, implement it and showcase it to an external audience by the end of the week. And this one challenge brings about a whirlwind of co-creation, right from deciding the topic, working on it, noting deadlines, connecting with each other and facing reality.
Their first challenge – meeting each other for the first time and learning to work together – understanding their way around each other, plenty of discussions, debates and disagreements.
They waged it all and chose their topic – A puppet show to create awareness around puberty and ways to deal with it
Their audience? Teenagers from the nearby village.
A taboo topic and an unfamiliar audience – that was double whammy already but life isn’t ever simple at the boot camp, is it?
They courageously overcame their own inhibitions around the topic and dived straight into DOING – browsing through sex-ed books, internet resources and some heavy-duty group discussion. All this churning was a leap in itself and the group bonded further in the process.
They divided the work between themselves and each one stayed committed on their part. Planning, Marketing, Logistics, Operations, Finance – every aspect was considered and they were all set for the final performance.
The D-day had arrived and there were butterflies in the tummy; but they had each other to lean on. They gathered the audience, set up their stage, props and the show began. It started with some shyness, reluctance, then some giggles, opening up, sharing their common everyday problems, hormonal changes and then there was no stopping them. They connected with their audience on everything from pimples, period cramps to fascinating insta reels.
They reflected and reviewed their project, analyzing what could have been done better. Some reflections included – using a mic, having more boys in the audience etc.
At the end of it all, a simple group project could expose them to a range of experiences and various moments of joy, frustration, giving up, push-n-pull, doing and ultimately, experiencing the real world.